Friday, July 11, 2008

Dave Bing is seriously investigating throwing his hat into the political ring, and running for mayor of Detroit. Personally, I think it makes too much sense to not happen. I just fear for Bing's sanity, jumping into the nasty muck and mire that is Detroit politics.

Who would you want to run Detroit?

Classy Mr. Bing?

Or big pimpin' King Kwame?

With Bing going public with his investigating a mayoral run, it's a good time to do a list of pros and cons. Let's determine, once and for all, if the former Piston is the city's savior, or just an older, basketball playing version of Kwame Kilpatrick...

Pro: Someone as respectable as Bing running the city of Detroit would greatly help in fixing Detroit's reputation.Con: Detroit's reputation is so low, a skateboard riding dog as mayor would make the city look better.

Pro: Bing is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and he used that status to great effect in building his business into a multi-million dollar operation.Con: Kwame Kilpatrick is an ex-jock as well, a former college football player, and we saw how well that worked out. Hizzoner still has that sense of "I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT" entitlement that too many athletes use and abuse.

Pro: Bing has the business acumen to draw new economic entities to Detroit.Con: Who wants to come to Detroit with so much controversy surrounding the city? Seriously. I'm extremely pro Detroit, but with the mayor facing felony charges, and now city council being investigated for corruption, the stench could linger for years...and years, and years, and years...

Pro: The respect people have for Dave Bing would go a long way in cleaning up the city.Con: People may think Dave Bing is "Insane with a capital I," in wanting to run Detroit.

Pro: Bing has more class in his pinky finger than King Kwame, the serial adulterer, has in his entire body.Con: Former Detroit mayor Dennis Archer was a pretty classy guy too, and he ended up walking away in utter disgust than run for another mayoral term. He had more than his fill of dirtying his hands in Detroit politics. The same could happen to Bing, while Kwame seems to revel in the city's dirty dealings.

Pro: Bing could make his Hall Of Fame teammate Bob Lanier his running mate. Hell, make him police commissioner!Con: There is no con to Bob Lanier, he's a bad, bad man. (Just ask Kareem Abdul Jabbar!) Would you want to mess with The Dobber? You'd end up with a size 22 Converse All-Star where the sun don't shine.

Pro: Everybody likes Dave Bing, ex-Piston and current businessman. He has no enemies.Con: Everybody will have an issue with the mayor of Detroit, be it Bing or the skateboarding dog. Politics is all about having, then dealing with, enemies.

Pro: The suburbs would love Dave Bing as mayor. He could undo the Coleman Young style politics King Kwame's embraced, pitting a mostly black city against the mostly white suburbs.Con: The residents of Detroit hate anything the suburbs approve. Which is why I'd be scared to death that King Kwame would be re-elected, instead of moving forward with Bing, just to spite the suburbs.

Pro: Bing would clean the city of Kwame's cronies. Most of whom do nothing of import, and permeate every sector of Detroit public services. The city needs an enema, Bing's just the man to give it.Con: There's so many cronies to eliminate, Detroit's unemployment stats would skyrocket.

Pro: No more stripper parties in the Manoogian Mansion...Not that stripper parties are a bad thing. (Just ones that end in someone's murder)Con: Bing would be more discreet with the extra-curriculars, which at his age (64) wouldn't be quite so strenuous or amorous as King Kwame's. Say playing bingo or hitting the early bird senior specials at Denny's.

Pro: Dave Bing is already one of the best ambassadors the city has, and he could do even more in public office. He could add the term "Detroit's savior" to his already long list of accomplishments.Con: There is no con to Dave Bing. He's as honorable as they come, and would put the needs of Detroit first, unlike the current administration. King Kwame is out for King Kwame, first, last and always. He placates his own wants and needs, such as traveling the country like a rock star, and having a security detail with a bigger roster than the Lions, than taking care of a needy city.

After going over the list, I've made a decision...

TWFE endorses Dave Bing for mayor of Detroit! Let's make it happen, folks.

Nothing against Bing because he'd probably make a fine mayor, but the big problem (which Dennis Archer learned and Big Al alluded to) is that corruption in Detroit city government from the city council on down is so pervasive and widespread that one man can't make a difference.

Not using this in the racial sense, but in the political sense, but it's like our own little banana republic. Probably fascinating for political scientists, but not so much for anyone who loves Detroit and would like to see the city make a comeback.

(Also, don't fool yourself that Archer wasn't involved in some corruption as well. Granted there are varying degrees, but I heard some interesting stories while working for someone who was connected to city politics.)

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Who"s behind the scenes at TWFE?

I'm Al Beaton, aka Big Al, a life-long Detroit sports fan. Being fed up with the lack of quality sports coverage by the MSM, I started "The Wayne Fontes Experience.". 1100+ posts later, it remains to be seen if that was a good idea... (And no, I'm not Eddie Munster, despite what my widow's peak may have you thinking)